1: How do you describe your leadership style?
Suggested answer: While I am completely aware that there is no right or wrong answer here, I would say that my leadership style is more strategic and collaborative. I approach a business problem from a strategic point of view. This helps me find solutions that hold good in the long term. Knowing my team, capabilities, and constraints will help me make such strategic decisions.
By developing and using this leadership style, I have been able to help my team succeed in the past on multiple occasions. When I began my career, I always believed that I had to be the smartest person in the room and make all the decisions, especially as a manager. But with experience, I have realized that the best ideas can come from anyone, and as a manager, I need to provide a warm and open environment to facilitate that.
Five popular leadership interview questions and answers
Leadership interview questions are often discussion-based. There is no one right answer. Hiring managers are looking for strong individuals with a strategic, problem-solving mindset. Also, companies are not only looking for employees with hard skills but also for brand custodians with the right soft skills, especially communication.
3 How important is time management for a leader?
Time management is a prerequisite for good leadership. The finest leaders are proactive and deliberate in their actions. It allows them to maximize their brainpower, ensure nice and effective connections with their colleagues, and feel motivated knowing that they control their calendar rather than it controlling them. At work, time management has an impact on performance and productivity. It will help you work more efficiently, fulfil deadlines, and produce higher-quality work. Time management is critical for leaders to prioritise all work duties and reach their objectives more quickly.
1 According to you, what is one of the difficult parts of being a leader?
Leaders are constantly exposed to risk, and they must be persistently responsible for managing it. While communicating with others is not that challenging, connecting with the people you lead might be difficult. Leaders must remain calm when there is panic in the room. All these tasks are difficult but exciting.
If you had to deliver bad news to the team, how would you do it?
You can bring the team members together and state the news. Try to explain clearly why that happened and what steps can be taken to avoid similar situation in future. Invite the team to express their concerns and answer their queries accordingly.
3 If you had to reorganize your team, how would you do it?
You can start reorganizing the team by first identifying the strengths and weaknesses in the current organizational structure. Also, communicate the reorganization to the team clearly and make the necessary adjustments.
How did you gain commitment from your team?
By influencing and persuading your team to set precise goals and buy into the process, you can gain their commitment. They’ll be on board to achieve the goals once they’ve established collaboration.
4: How do you handle disagreements in your team?
Suggested answer: Different people come in with different personalities and perspectives. Every team is bound to have disagreements. As a manager, conflict management and resolution is a huge part of my role and I have learned this skill on the job, over the years. I follow this four-step process to manage conflicts: